Irvine Inspired pa r t 2 : e d u c at i o n
A 10-part series celebrating the people and milestones in and around Great Park Neighborhoods as the community celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Great Park Neighborhoods Schools Create a Foundation for Students’ Success
Patrick Cui, Portola High graduate
Jaein Kim, Portola High graduate
From a young age, Patrick Cui found himself glued to
entrepreneurism and establishing a launching pad for
his smartphone to watch live launches of new Apple
an idea – and actually create it,” Cui said. “Teachers
devices. As a fan of Apple founder Steve Jobs, he
also taught me how to interact and be a good person.
admired his ability to harness the power of technology
I saw them as role models who gave me a perspective
to create solutions and solve problems.
on the world that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
It wasn’t until he began attending Portola High School
To find his place and participate in building a culture
during its inaugural year in 2016 within Great Park
at the new school, Cui was active in several campus
Neighborhoods that Cui realized he could create his
clubs, film production and the basketball team. He
own technology-based solutions for himself and other
noticed it wasn’t always easy to find information on
students.
clubs and activities on campus, and details were
“It was at Portola High where I fell in love with
largely shared across multiple Instagram accounts or by word of mouth.
So, he rallied a few like-minded classmates to create
Having excelled both as a student and on the cheer
Integral, an app that organizes everything from
team, Kim was weighing her options upon graduation
classroom schedules to campus or club events.
and deciding whether she was ready to start right
Free to download by students, the app helps school
away at a four-year university.
administrators deliver useful content on school
When her cheer coach heard she might stay local and
activities within an all-encompassing “digital
take general ed courses at a community college, she
backpack” or bulletin board. Authorized school
offered Kim an assistant coaching job with Portola
administrators also keep end-to-end control of
High’s Junior Varsity cheer team given the current
updating the content and related features.
coach was leaving. Kim accepted the position and
Cui first presented the concept to Principal John
coached while she attended Irvine Valley College.
Pehrson during his junior year. Principal Pehrson
While the experience lasted only one year, Kim
liked it and adapted the app on campus. Portola
is forever grateful to the teachers, coaches, and
High doesn’t have the traditional school bell to start
counselors who empowered her to chart her own path
classes, so the app created an alternative solution to
during her time as a student and later as a coach.
remind students of their next class or school activity through notifications or an onscreen feature that counts down the minutes to the next event.
“It was a full-circle moment for me, and I was very grateful to have had that experience,” Kim said. “The sheer passion that [the] teachers had made me realize
Today, nearly four years later, the app is now utilized
that learning was supposed to be exciting and fun, and
by three school districts and has more than 20,000
that makes such a big difference when you spend a lot
user downloads. As its CEO, Cui aspires to grow
of time in school Monday through Friday.”
that number while he attends UC Berkeley, where he is studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences with a minor in Public Policy. Cui credits what he learned in and out of the classroom during high school as key to his success and takes pride in being a part of Portola High’s first graduating class in 2020. “Portola High and the teachers and coaches played a big role in shaping who I am,” Cui said. “They encouraged me to find my passion and make a difference in the world – and helped me define what I want to do for the foreseeable future.” Cheering on and giving back
Kim is now entering her junior year at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she is currently majoring in Marketing and Finance with a minor in Photography. Places with purpose Students like Cui and Kim are the inspiration behind the construction of four state-of-the-art campuses within Great Park Neighborhoods, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023. As some of the newest schools within the highly-rated Irvine Unified School District, the four campuses create the best possible learning environment for students through flexible workspaces, an integrated
Few students return to their high school campus for a
curriculum, personalized instruction, and the latest
fifth year – at least not willingly. But that’s exactly what
technology.
happened with 2021 Portola High graduate Jaein Kim.
Here’s a glimpse into the four schools within Great Park Neighborhoods – and how they equip students for success in their future studies, careers and life:
Solis Park K-8 OPENED AUGUST 2022
Solis Park is the community’s third K–8 school with a campus spanning seven buildings and 103,000 flexible square feet where students are free to collaborate, discover and grow. That might mean testing out experiments in an innovation lab, identifying native butterflies in the arts and science courtyard, or perfecting their threepointers in the full-court gymnasium — wherever the day leads, this interactive curriculum will leave a long and lasting impact. The campus is one of IUSD’s only schools with dedicated facilities for special education programs.
Cadence Park K-8 OPENED AUGUST 2018
Cadence Park K-8 and its art deco design is filled with innovative, collaborative, and reflective spaces that promote both personal and communal learning, plus inspiring places like the media center’s ‘illumination room’ complete with floor-to-ceiling windows, a working garden and a full-size gymnasium.
Beacon Park K-8 OPENED AUGUST 2016
Beacon Park School was designed to meet criteria developed by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, which establishes guidelines for campuses that promote environmental stability, energy-efficiency and alignment with modern teaching methods. In keeping with this campus concept, the grounds include covered walkways between each of the buildings, a separate kindergarten area with play structures, outdoor learning areas between classroom buildings, student gardens, grass fields and grade level-appropriate play equipment.
Portola High School OPENED AUGUST 2016
Portola High School is IUSD’s fifth and newest comprehensive high school. The state-of-the-art school was designed to meet criteria developed by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools. That means there’s good lighting, clean air, and comfortable classrooms so that every student has the best possible learning environment with the smallest impact on the environment.
A joint venture of FivePoint funded the construction of the three K-8s as development partner of Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) and provided land for Portola High in partnership with IUSD and The Irvine Company.
fun fact Serving a diverse population of more than 36,000 K-12 students, IUSD consistently ranks among the finest educational systems in the state and nation in subjects like Math, Science, English and Arts/Music. Its award-winning schools received the National Blue Ribbon Award 20 times since 1982 and were awarded the California Distinguished Schools/Gold Ribbon designation 83 times since 1986. In our book, they receive an A+ for educational excellence!